Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

A New Translation and Afterword by Maureen Freely

Galip is a lawyer living in Istanbul. His wife, the detective novel-loving Ruya, has disappeared. Could she have left him for her ex-husband orCel&acirc;l, a popular newspaper columnist? But Cel&acirc;l, too, seems to have vanished. As Galip investigates, he finds himself assuming the enviable Cel&acirc;l's identity, wearing his clothes, answering his phone calls, even writing his columns. Galip pursues every conceivable clue, but the nature of the mystery keeps changing, and when he receives a death threat, he begins to fear the worst.

With its cascade of beguiling stories about Istanbul, The Black Book is a brilliantly unconventional mystery, and a provocative meditation on identity. For Turkish literary readers it is the cherished cult novel in which Orhan Pamuk found his original voice, but it has largely been neglected by English-language readers. Now, in Maureen Freelys beautiful new translation, they, too, may encounter all its riches.

What Our Readers Are Saying

Average customer rating based on 1 comment:

jenny, March 24, 2007 (view all comments by jenny)
this isn't a comment on the book itself but on your summary... there are actually two celals in the novel. one is ruya's ex husband. the other is her half brother, celal bey, who is the famous newspaper columnist. your summary suggests that her ex husband is indeed her brother!

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